Page 32 of Escaping Hallow Hill Academy
“What about the handprint?”
He throws a look at me over his shoulder, and then, in a single, fluid motion, brings his fist crashing down against the panel. Sparks fly and cables jut out in a broken mass.
My eyes roll. “I doubt that’ll work—”
The door slides open, and darkness and a staircase greet us on the other side. Well, fuck me. Like that shit isn’t ominous or anything.
“Ladies first?” Rueren asks, gesturing to the darkness.
A true gentleman, clearly.
I wish I had a weapon, but my spells will be enough in this instance, so long as whoever controls the thing on my spine doesn’t decide to shoot that shit through my veins.
Cautiously, the three of us make our way down into the darkness. I step slowly. While my race is one with the darkness, it still takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to it. There are no sounds coming from below, and it’s a silence that’s so eerie, goosebumps rise along my arms.
The bottom leads us into an open room equally dark. We try our best to navigate through it until Styx finds another door. Rueren makes quick work of the lock with thrilling violence and opens it to reveal a room with flickering lights overhead.
Things blink in and out of focus, nearly giving me a headache that I try to suppress. I study every corner of the room. It smells like antiseptic and bleach, a little bit like a hospital, actually. The walls are stark white, and everything in here is made of steel. A table sits in the corner scattered with shining cogs and gears and—
“Is that . . .” I squint at it.
“Blood,” Rueren confirms on a crawling whisper.
I don’t turn to see how the sight of it is affecting the vampire. I’m sure he knows how to control himself, but my stomach lurches with nausea. A glass jar holds dark clumps of I-don’t-know-what-the-fuck-what, with bright blood that drips over the lid and onto stainless steel.
A table sits in the middle of the room. Darkness. Light. My vision flickers with the faulty bulb, and I capture mere glimpses of the thing there.
Clumps and piles of cogs, tubes, and steel. Bile rises to my throat when I see fleshy flaps of skin spread out across the gray metal.
I take a step closer to it. “The fuck is thi—”
The thing on the table jerks upright. A hollow shriek rings out, a sound that’s like metal striking together over and over again. It’s terrifying.
Darkness envelops.
Light shows that it’s some sort of hybrid machine blanketed in flesh and blood.
Styx barks. Rueren curses. I barely have time to jerk back before the thing attacks.
It’s violent and unpredictable but fast. The metal makes its blows strong, and I’m already analyzing the situation as best as I can. I know what this is: another monstrous hybrid thing, just like the one I fought in the alley.
This one isn’t as put together, and it’s missing vital pieces, making it jerky. It clatters to the ground and reaches for us. A scream swallows in my throat as I kick out at it to get it away from us.
Rueren grabs me from behind, pulling me against his chest. “Time to fucking leave,” he whispers in my ear. I can feel a heartbeat in his chest, and it’s pounding against my back. It’s a strange moment for me to wonder why this vampire has a beating heart, and another when the realization strikes.
It’s mine . . . it’s my heartbeat.
And that shouldn’t be possible. No matter how intense our soul bond may be.
Unless, it’s not mine at all. Unless . . .
“You’re an Ancient One,” I accuse.
“Now’s not the time, little Sekar.” He whirls with me in his arms just as the thing comes crashing towards us. He pushes me away, putting himself in the line of its wrath. Sharp blades strike through his back, and his whole body arches, and the scent of blood is prominent in the air.
The presence of Lady Death invades my senses, and a quick burst of pain and adrenaline stabs through me.
No.
